sticking it out there for all to see, only to get it caught in your zipper....

lol

you dzogchenpas crack me up.

For us that was young in the seventies, when underwear was considered optional because of the tightness of the jeans, I can assure you that "caught in the zipper" is something very very painful.

/magnus

We are all here to help each other go through this, whatever it is.~Kurt Vonnegut

"To reject practice by saying, 'it is conceptual!' is the path of fools. A tendency of the inexperienced and something to be avoided."- Longchenpa

"Even though you have recognized your essence, if you do not get accustomed to it,You will be carried away by the enemy of thoughts, like a small child in a battle field.So long as you are not free from the limitations of accepting and rejecting,That long will you not recognize the view of the innermost secret heart-essence."

As far as Semdzins go, I would like to paraphrase Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche in his book Dzogchen teachings, from pages 93-99.

Basically he explains and says that Trechod is impossible without having prior knowledge of our condition.

Let me say that again: Impossible. That means no real presence. Now sure we can awaken knowledge through our practices of presence and so forth, but there is doubt if there is no knowledge. Then our practice isn't coordination of our body, speech, and mind with this knowledge but too much effort, usually.

In these few pages ChNNR doesn't actually mention Semdzins. Nevertheless, the express purpose of Semdzins is to discover this knowledge.

Now my take is that whether we have knowledge or not, if it is not very stable, then we can more easily affirm or reaffirm our knowledge through Semdzins. Or if we don't have knowledge, we can gain it through Semdzins.

This only helps our practice of presence.

Knowledge is key. It's just like anything else. Save here it is not so much intellectual. Though of course we need intellectual knowledge of the things taught to us as well.

Kevin

"When we are following Dharma, any kind of Dharma - Sutra, Tantra - most important is that first of all we know our condition, not Dharma". - The maestro ChNN

sticking it out there for all to see, only to get it caught in your zipper....

lol

you dzogchenpas crack me up.

I know right.Actually sharing with others in an attempt to help them out, share experiences, and reassure is so laughable.

Uh, depends on the intention.

Quite easy to act the part and fool yourself and others into thinking you're awesome regardless of whether or not you remain quiet. In fact, keeping quiet is potentially easier: you get to act superior without saying a word, except maybe a few choice ones like above.

So far, all the once-secret practices I have learned came from another person in a fairly public setting. It's pretty obvious why talking about experiences can throw us off course of pure intention, but it's also pretty obvious someone somewhere was talking, unless all the stories and texts are a bunch of tall tales.

"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron

I was referring to Heruka's post, I believe, and I was not actually pointing the figure at anyone. Just making a comment about silence vs. well-intentioned sharing w/o breaking samaya, of course. I appreciated what you had to say. Thanks for sharing it.

"Use what seems like poison as medicine. We can use our personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings." Pema Chodron

Since I'm not desrcibing any details about the practice here, is it okay to ask if there is much point in doing the Purification of the Six Lokas practice throughout the day while engaged in ordinary activity, as opposed to doing it retreat style at home? That is if we can maintain awareness in doing this of course....

Also, is it alright to skip the Outer Rushen that comes before the Inner Purification of the Six Lokas, and still achieve the fruition of the latter?

Lhug-Pa wrote:Since I'm not desrcibing any details about the practice here, is it okay to ask if there is much point in doing the Purification of the Six Lokas practice throughout the day while engaged in ordinary activity, as opposed to doing it retreat style at home?

Not much.

Also, is it alright to skip the Outer Rushen that comes before the Inner Purification of the Six Lokas, and still achieve the fruition of the latter?

Yes.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

In Heart Drops of Dharmakaya it is written that the Rushen preliminaries can be practiced while maintaining ordinary daily life.

However, since reciting the Mantras while actually engaged in the specific tasks of ordinary daily life would apparently be fruitless, then sitting down and dedicating a couple hours each day to the practice and spreading it over say three to six months, is the only option for right now.

Last edited by Lhug-Pa on Sat Dec 17, 2011 9:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Right, I understand that. I should have been more clear in conveying that I meant that we don't necessarily have to go on vacation or retire and go on an all out retreat. As I'm sure you already know anyway.

Lhug-Pa wrote:Right, I understand that. I should have been more clear in conveying that I meant that we don't necessarily have to go on vacation or retire to go on an all out retreat. As I'm sure you already know anyway.

But an all out retreat in seclusion is IMO much better.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

Do all of the explanations of the practices in The Precious Vase contain complete instructions?

For example in The Precious Vase the explanation of the Rushen of the Six Lokas is quite simple compared to the one given in the Bonpo instructions found in Lopon Tenzin Namdak Rinpoche's and Jean Luc-Achard's book; and also, the Lung that Rinpoche gave today for a Terma Six Lokas practice, had some Mantras that aren't in The Precious Vase version of the Six Lokas practice.

But I'm wondering if the Six Lokas practice as presented in The Precious Vase is still complete in itself.

After reading through the Precious Vase, specifically the sections on the Lojongs, Rushens and Semdzins, I found the book of the same name to be very helpful in clarifying a few points that I was unsure about.

"But if you know how to observe yourself, you will discover your real nature, the primordial state, the state of Guruyoga, and then all will become clear because you will have discovered everything"-Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche